Network redundancy and fault tolerance are often desired in the equipment of an industrial process control and automation system. For example, redundancy typically helps to reduce the loss of control or view over an industrial process. There are various techniques for implementing redundancy in an Ethernet network, such as the implementation of a FAULT TOLERANT ETHERNET (FTE) network from HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. In this approach, code is inserted into the drivers of a device's operating system (OS). Another example of implementing redundancy in an Ethernet network adds intermediate drivers in what otherwise would be standard Ethernet Network Interface Cards (NICs).
Updates and changes to a device's OS occur frequently. Because of these frequent changes, extra work is often needed in order to update the drivers used by the OS. Also, qualification testing is often needed to ensure compatibility between drivers in the OS or in the NIC. In addition, certain operating systems are open source and therefore subject to open software rules. Open software rules may require that any kernel mode driver be published, which typically conflicts with a developer's desire to keep details of its software confidential or secure.